Post by Gan Ning on Apr 27, 2011 0:13:13 GMT
It was already late in the afternoon when Xingba and Liangde left the halls of Sun Ce, and was now dusk. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows and reflecting a brilliant red off of some of the higher-flying clouds. Xingba looked up from the scroll he was working on and nudged Liangde to look as well. Red sky at night, sailor's delight, eh? Haha, le's hope for some smooth sailin' 'ere soon, right? he said with a smirk. Suo answered only with a "Hmph" and went back to his own scroll, putting the finishing touches on it. He briefly inspected his handiwork before tossing it on the pile with all the others, now numbering almost thirty.
Kong Suo leaned back and rubbed his eyes. After going to gather their men from what ended up being one of the smaller public parks inside the city, Suo had returned to find Xingba himself hard at work copying scroll after scroll just as Liangde himself was doing now. Suo had chuckled and asked if Ning really felt he needed the practice right then and there, but Ning had merely handed Suo a scroll to read and gone back to work. After reading it, Suo nodded and smiled in satisfaction. It seemed that Gan Ning was learning quite well indeed. The scrolls were to be used in their current efforts to bring the pirates of the Chang Jiang basin into a more honest line of work (and wipe out those that didn't accept that plan).
They read simply thus:
"Brethren of the Rivers, Gan Ning of the Bells and the Gentleman Pirate Kong Suo have joined the Lord of the Southlands, Sun Ce. They are now leading the fleets of Wu to wipe out any pirates that they find operating on their rivers. They will strike swiftly and without mercy anyone who clings to the old ways of piracy. However, Lord Sun has extended an offer of amnesty. Any pirate who wishes to leave that life behind and fight for the Lord Sun will be accepted, without question. He has already accepted the likes of Gan and Kong. Surely a steady wage in service to Wu is a better option than meeting the Wu fleets in battle."
It was sealed at the bottom with Gan Ning's personal mark, a crow carrying a pair of bells. Suo was more than mildly impressed with Ning's writing. It had quite a bit more... flair, than he expected it to have.
Suo leaned forward and was about to start creating another copy when Ning broke the silence again. Nah, it'll be alright from here on in. Jus' gotta find some of our boys to go sailin' and readin'. I don' trust any o' our rivals to read too good. Suo nodded his understand, took half the pile of scrolls, and headed to meet with his crew and choose who would be taking the quickboats and spreading the word, while Ning took the other half. Within an hour, the messengers had been chosen, fed well, and sent off ahead of the main fleet, which remained moored outside Jian Ye until the following day.
~Five Days Later~
Gan Ning leaned against the forward railing of his flagship, eyes closed and face upturned to the sunshine, and let the wind blow through his unbanded hair. Behind him, he knew that his own fleet followed him, mixed in with ships of Suo's small fleet and the gatherings of five days' sailing. Men and even women from all along the riverbanks had come to accept Sun Ce's offer of mercy in exchange for steady work and pay. Ning knew it wasn't necessarily evil that drove people to piracy. Sometimes, especially in these uncertain times where warfare was constant, people just couldn't make ends meet. These were the people who joined him first; the downtrodden who saw their fields trampled by armies season after season, or for whom the flooding, famine, or locust swarms hit particularly hard. And they had brought with them the heads of their slavemaster captains as tokens of good faith. Four small pirate groups had joined with Gan Ning in as many days.
But he knew that these alone weren't the only form of pirates. Ning had yet to hear back from three of his biggest rivals from his own days of piracy: Bao Du, Tang Lo, and Guang Haifeng. Together, the three had an impressive armada. Ning doubted very much that they could all work together for any length of time, but any amount of time might spell trouble for his expedition. As if sensing his friend's thoughts, Kong Suo walked up beside Xingba, dark blue silk robe billowing in the stiff breeze. Better not to worry, but to plan, he stated simply, placing a hand against the railing. Ning squinted one eye open and nodded, but said nothing. After all, when was they last time they even talked civilly to one another, let alone worked together?
Ning pushed himself up from the railing and stretched, his bare chest well-tanned from the sun. Yeah, yeah, I know. But we ain't heard back from our guys yet. Makes a man irritated, wanna bash some heads, ya know? Suo smiled, nodded, and turned to scan the horizon. A dark splotch caught his eye as he did so, and he shielded his eyes as best he could to get a better look. "Hmph" was the only sound he could make. Ning looked now, too, and as they watched, the splotch began to take the form of a large fleet, easily twice the size of what Ning had with him. Ning smirked. This could be fun. Bring me my bells!! he shouted, and immediately orders circulated all through his flagship. His crew knew well what those words meant, and almost as one they sprang into action. Within moments, Gan Ning stood upon the prow of his ship, clad in his battle armor and bells, and listened to the "heave, ho" of his men as they ran up the red silk sails that so undeniably spoke the words "Gan Ning approaches." Suo was beside him moments later, similarly dressed for battle. The rest of his of ships quickly followed suit and took the lead in the small flotilla to present an uninterrupted line of brilliant red sails.
As they approached nearer, however, Ning could make out that it was not, in fact, an undivided fleet that opposed him. A battle was taking place already, and it was clear to see how it was shaping up. There were indeed three forces, easily marked out by their different flags, belonging to the three men Ning thought they would. One ship, flying the banners of Guang Haifeng, broke away from the fray as the fleet of Wu closed on them. Wonder if I'll ever get used to calling my fleet "Wu," thought Xingba with a rueful smile. He directed his ruddermen to steer toward the approaching vessel, which was now being pursued by three other ships, two belonging to Bao Du and the other to Tang Lo by the looks of it. The gap was quickly narrowed and Gan Ning noticed the Guang ship flew a banner of peace as it approached. A bloodied man in light armor, gripping a sword, was excited gesturing and yelling, though the words were lost to the wind and distance for a minute.
--ing! Gan Ning! Please, ya gotta help us! Guang Haifeng was tryin'a join ya, but then those bastards Tang and Bao attacked us, sayin' it was their river an' they'd be damned if some goodie-goodie chased 'em off! Please!!
Gan shouted back to the man that he understood while Suo immediately began issuing orders, the signals being passed from ship to ship along the Wu battle line. His ships picked up speed as men manned the oars and the red sails ran out full, several breaking off to intercept the three approaching ships. Xingba's ship, on the other hand, headed straight into the thickest part of the fighting. It appeared that Guang Haifeng's small fleet was getting decimated by the much larger combined force set against it. By Gan's calculations, even with his own ships, it was three to two against. He smiled devilishly. These were the kinds of odds he lived for.
Directly to the center of battle his ship sailed, the ruddermen deftly maneuvering through the various scrums to get where they knew their captain wanted to be: the trio of pirate flagships locked together in battle near the center of the general melee. The rest of his fleet had peeled off to deal with the two pirate bands by the time Ning's ship met Bao Du's own. They had managed to catch the pirate lord broadside, and the two former pirates braced against the railing as the bow of his ship crushed into their opponent with a crash of creaking and splintering wood.
Already prepared, Xingba and Liangde used the sudden momentum shift of the crash to propel themselves onto the Bao flagship. Sword and spear weaved a deadly dance, striking left and parrying right, slashing to the front and slicing behind. Their foes were many, but Xingba and Suo were undoubtedly the most deadly pair they had (or would) ever encounter. The whirlwind of bell-jingling death and mayhem made its way to where the fighting was heaviest, Ning's veteran swordsmen surging behind their leader and brutally putting down all who opposed them.
As the last of Bao's own guards fell to the combined onslaught of Gan Ning and Kong Suo, they could see Guang Haifeng locked in a mortal combat with the other two pirate chieftains. Xingba could tell he was tiring, and let out a great shout as he charged forward. Fools! Don'cha know what this sound means?! Tang Lo turned just in time to sloppily parry the first few strokes of Gan Ning's spear, but Ning spun the butt end around and took the legs of his opponent out from under him, slamming him hard into the deck. In a single fluid motion, Xingba used the momentum of his strike to spin his spear around in his hands and bring the the blade down point-first into the chest of Tang Lo. Tang Lo let out a single cry and fell silent, his life's essence draining onto the wave-tossed deck of his comrade's ship.
Kong Suo, meanwhile, had seized the opportunity to join Guang Haifeng's side against Bao Du. Guang, his face showing both the confusion and relief that he felt at the sudden intervention, redoubled his efforts and together with Suo managed to overcome the more powerful Bao Du. Bao's weapon flew from his hand and skittered across the deck as Ning finished off his own opponent, and Bao Du was forced to his knees in submission. Gan pulled his weapon from his dead foe and walked over to where his old friend and new ally had their weapons at Bao Du's throat. Suo and Haifeng backed away as Xingba approached.
Xingba spoke quietly. I gave ya yer chance, dinn't I? This ain't your river, bud. Never was. It's always bin' mine, I jus' fly a diff'rent flag now. Bao Du glared angrily up at the three men, but said nothing, electing instead to spend his last minute alive spitting in the face of Gan Ning of the Bells. Ning deftly sidestepped the disgusting missile and spun quickly, bringing the sideblade of his spear around in a single quick, powerful motion. The head of Bao Du plopped wetly to the deck, his dead eyes wide with shock. Ning wiped off his blade as Suo and Haifeng quickly took the now-severed heads of Bao Du and Tang Lo, once two of the most powerful pirate lords on the Chang Jiang river, and held them aloft for all nearby to see.
Suo's powerful voice carried far into the battle. Bao and Tang have fallen. Surrender and be spared! Within minutes, word had spread throughout the battle. The former members of the dead pirates' bands either threw down their arms and surrendered or fled as quickly as they could, their morale broken totally. A raucous cheer went up and began spreading in a wave.
"Xingba!" they cried. "Wuuuuuuu!"
~Two Weeks Later~
It had taken over a week to track down most of the rest of the river pirates, but with the breaking of Bao and Tang's forces, no other pirate chieftain had dared rise up against the Wu forces led by Gan Ning and Kong Suo. Guang Haifeng had taken a single ship with a small crew to deliver his formal allegiance to Sun Ce four days earlier, and as word spread of what had happened during the single major skirmish of the tiny campaign, the waterways began to clear and trade tentatively resumed. Ning had no doubt that pirates would eventually return (they always did), but it would not be any time soon as long as people knew the red sails and bells of Gan Ning were around.
After nearly three weeks on the river, Gan Ning's ships pulled back into Jian Ye's massive port complex, now nearly twice the strength they had left with. When they landed, Ning called for the men Sun Ce had sent with him to observe. I reckon this went well enough, yeah? Go an' tell Lord Sun that we made it back safe an' sound, and with some new tag-alongs, too! The men quickly bowed and departed. Gan Ning, however, simply retired to his room onboard his flagship and slept.
Kong Suo leaned back and rubbed his eyes. After going to gather their men from what ended up being one of the smaller public parks inside the city, Suo had returned to find Xingba himself hard at work copying scroll after scroll just as Liangde himself was doing now. Suo had chuckled and asked if Ning really felt he needed the practice right then and there, but Ning had merely handed Suo a scroll to read and gone back to work. After reading it, Suo nodded and smiled in satisfaction. It seemed that Gan Ning was learning quite well indeed. The scrolls were to be used in their current efforts to bring the pirates of the Chang Jiang basin into a more honest line of work (and wipe out those that didn't accept that plan).
They read simply thus:
"Brethren of the Rivers, Gan Ning of the Bells and the Gentleman Pirate Kong Suo have joined the Lord of the Southlands, Sun Ce. They are now leading the fleets of Wu to wipe out any pirates that they find operating on their rivers. They will strike swiftly and without mercy anyone who clings to the old ways of piracy. However, Lord Sun has extended an offer of amnesty. Any pirate who wishes to leave that life behind and fight for the Lord Sun will be accepted, without question. He has already accepted the likes of Gan and Kong. Surely a steady wage in service to Wu is a better option than meeting the Wu fleets in battle."
It was sealed at the bottom with Gan Ning's personal mark, a crow carrying a pair of bells. Suo was more than mildly impressed with Ning's writing. It had quite a bit more... flair, than he expected it to have.
Suo leaned forward and was about to start creating another copy when Ning broke the silence again. Nah, it'll be alright from here on in. Jus' gotta find some of our boys to go sailin' and readin'. I don' trust any o' our rivals to read too good. Suo nodded his understand, took half the pile of scrolls, and headed to meet with his crew and choose who would be taking the quickboats and spreading the word, while Ning took the other half. Within an hour, the messengers had been chosen, fed well, and sent off ahead of the main fleet, which remained moored outside Jian Ye until the following day.
~Five Days Later~
Gan Ning leaned against the forward railing of his flagship, eyes closed and face upturned to the sunshine, and let the wind blow through his unbanded hair. Behind him, he knew that his own fleet followed him, mixed in with ships of Suo's small fleet and the gatherings of five days' sailing. Men and even women from all along the riverbanks had come to accept Sun Ce's offer of mercy in exchange for steady work and pay. Ning knew it wasn't necessarily evil that drove people to piracy. Sometimes, especially in these uncertain times where warfare was constant, people just couldn't make ends meet. These were the people who joined him first; the downtrodden who saw their fields trampled by armies season after season, or for whom the flooding, famine, or locust swarms hit particularly hard. And they had brought with them the heads of their slavemaster captains as tokens of good faith. Four small pirate groups had joined with Gan Ning in as many days.
But he knew that these alone weren't the only form of pirates. Ning had yet to hear back from three of his biggest rivals from his own days of piracy: Bao Du, Tang Lo, and Guang Haifeng. Together, the three had an impressive armada. Ning doubted very much that they could all work together for any length of time, but any amount of time might spell trouble for his expedition. As if sensing his friend's thoughts, Kong Suo walked up beside Xingba, dark blue silk robe billowing in the stiff breeze. Better not to worry, but to plan, he stated simply, placing a hand against the railing. Ning squinted one eye open and nodded, but said nothing. After all, when was they last time they even talked civilly to one another, let alone worked together?
Ning pushed himself up from the railing and stretched, his bare chest well-tanned from the sun. Yeah, yeah, I know. But we ain't heard back from our guys yet. Makes a man irritated, wanna bash some heads, ya know? Suo smiled, nodded, and turned to scan the horizon. A dark splotch caught his eye as he did so, and he shielded his eyes as best he could to get a better look. "Hmph" was the only sound he could make. Ning looked now, too, and as they watched, the splotch began to take the form of a large fleet, easily twice the size of what Ning had with him. Ning smirked. This could be fun. Bring me my bells!! he shouted, and immediately orders circulated all through his flagship. His crew knew well what those words meant, and almost as one they sprang into action. Within moments, Gan Ning stood upon the prow of his ship, clad in his battle armor and bells, and listened to the "heave, ho" of his men as they ran up the red silk sails that so undeniably spoke the words "Gan Ning approaches." Suo was beside him moments later, similarly dressed for battle. The rest of his of ships quickly followed suit and took the lead in the small flotilla to present an uninterrupted line of brilliant red sails.
As they approached nearer, however, Ning could make out that it was not, in fact, an undivided fleet that opposed him. A battle was taking place already, and it was clear to see how it was shaping up. There were indeed three forces, easily marked out by their different flags, belonging to the three men Ning thought they would. One ship, flying the banners of Guang Haifeng, broke away from the fray as the fleet of Wu closed on them. Wonder if I'll ever get used to calling my fleet "Wu," thought Xingba with a rueful smile. He directed his ruddermen to steer toward the approaching vessel, which was now being pursued by three other ships, two belonging to Bao Du and the other to Tang Lo by the looks of it. The gap was quickly narrowed and Gan Ning noticed the Guang ship flew a banner of peace as it approached. A bloodied man in light armor, gripping a sword, was excited gesturing and yelling, though the words were lost to the wind and distance for a minute.
--ing! Gan Ning! Please, ya gotta help us! Guang Haifeng was tryin'a join ya, but then those bastards Tang and Bao attacked us, sayin' it was their river an' they'd be damned if some goodie-goodie chased 'em off! Please!!
Gan shouted back to the man that he understood while Suo immediately began issuing orders, the signals being passed from ship to ship along the Wu battle line. His ships picked up speed as men manned the oars and the red sails ran out full, several breaking off to intercept the three approaching ships. Xingba's ship, on the other hand, headed straight into the thickest part of the fighting. It appeared that Guang Haifeng's small fleet was getting decimated by the much larger combined force set against it. By Gan's calculations, even with his own ships, it was three to two against. He smiled devilishly. These were the kinds of odds he lived for.
Directly to the center of battle his ship sailed, the ruddermen deftly maneuvering through the various scrums to get where they knew their captain wanted to be: the trio of pirate flagships locked together in battle near the center of the general melee. The rest of his fleet had peeled off to deal with the two pirate bands by the time Ning's ship met Bao Du's own. They had managed to catch the pirate lord broadside, and the two former pirates braced against the railing as the bow of his ship crushed into their opponent with a crash of creaking and splintering wood.
Already prepared, Xingba and Liangde used the sudden momentum shift of the crash to propel themselves onto the Bao flagship. Sword and spear weaved a deadly dance, striking left and parrying right, slashing to the front and slicing behind. Their foes were many, but Xingba and Suo were undoubtedly the most deadly pair they had (or would) ever encounter. The whirlwind of bell-jingling death and mayhem made its way to where the fighting was heaviest, Ning's veteran swordsmen surging behind their leader and brutally putting down all who opposed them.
As the last of Bao's own guards fell to the combined onslaught of Gan Ning and Kong Suo, they could see Guang Haifeng locked in a mortal combat with the other two pirate chieftains. Xingba could tell he was tiring, and let out a great shout as he charged forward. Fools! Don'cha know what this sound means?! Tang Lo turned just in time to sloppily parry the first few strokes of Gan Ning's spear, but Ning spun the butt end around and took the legs of his opponent out from under him, slamming him hard into the deck. In a single fluid motion, Xingba used the momentum of his strike to spin his spear around in his hands and bring the the blade down point-first into the chest of Tang Lo. Tang Lo let out a single cry and fell silent, his life's essence draining onto the wave-tossed deck of his comrade's ship.
Kong Suo, meanwhile, had seized the opportunity to join Guang Haifeng's side against Bao Du. Guang, his face showing both the confusion and relief that he felt at the sudden intervention, redoubled his efforts and together with Suo managed to overcome the more powerful Bao Du. Bao's weapon flew from his hand and skittered across the deck as Ning finished off his own opponent, and Bao Du was forced to his knees in submission. Gan pulled his weapon from his dead foe and walked over to where his old friend and new ally had their weapons at Bao Du's throat. Suo and Haifeng backed away as Xingba approached.
Xingba spoke quietly. I gave ya yer chance, dinn't I? This ain't your river, bud. Never was. It's always bin' mine, I jus' fly a diff'rent flag now. Bao Du glared angrily up at the three men, but said nothing, electing instead to spend his last minute alive spitting in the face of Gan Ning of the Bells. Ning deftly sidestepped the disgusting missile and spun quickly, bringing the sideblade of his spear around in a single quick, powerful motion. The head of Bao Du plopped wetly to the deck, his dead eyes wide with shock. Ning wiped off his blade as Suo and Haifeng quickly took the now-severed heads of Bao Du and Tang Lo, once two of the most powerful pirate lords on the Chang Jiang river, and held them aloft for all nearby to see.
Suo's powerful voice carried far into the battle. Bao and Tang have fallen. Surrender and be spared! Within minutes, word had spread throughout the battle. The former members of the dead pirates' bands either threw down their arms and surrendered or fled as quickly as they could, their morale broken totally. A raucous cheer went up and began spreading in a wave.
"Xingba!" they cried. "Wuuuuuuu!"
~Two Weeks Later~
It had taken over a week to track down most of the rest of the river pirates, but with the breaking of Bao and Tang's forces, no other pirate chieftain had dared rise up against the Wu forces led by Gan Ning and Kong Suo. Guang Haifeng had taken a single ship with a small crew to deliver his formal allegiance to Sun Ce four days earlier, and as word spread of what had happened during the single major skirmish of the tiny campaign, the waterways began to clear and trade tentatively resumed. Ning had no doubt that pirates would eventually return (they always did), but it would not be any time soon as long as people knew the red sails and bells of Gan Ning were around.
After nearly three weeks on the river, Gan Ning's ships pulled back into Jian Ye's massive port complex, now nearly twice the strength they had left with. When they landed, Ning called for the men Sun Ce had sent with him to observe. I reckon this went well enough, yeah? Go an' tell Lord Sun that we made it back safe an' sound, and with some new tag-alongs, too! The men quickly bowed and departed. Gan Ning, however, simply retired to his room onboard his flagship and slept.
